1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for reducing noise in a digital image, and more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for reducing noise in a digital image capable of reducing noise while preventing damage to an edge of a digital image.
2. Description of the Related Art
An apparatus using a digital camera has been widely used in various fields. In particular, in accordance with the increase in the use of a camera in an electrical device used in a vehicle (for example, a camera used for a night vision system), the demand for technology for removing noise included in a digital image photographed during the night has been increased.
Noise in a digital image may be generated due to the physical characteristics and instability of an image sensor used for the camera, or may be generated during the processing of a digital image signal generated in the image sensor. In order to obtain improved image quality, an apparatus and a process for removing the noise should necessarily be used.
In a digital image processing field, various methods of reducing or removing noise have been suggested. However, in these methods, the brightness (luminance) or contour direction of an image and the patterns of the image and the noise have not been appropriately considered, such that an edge of the image is blurred and damaged, thereby having an negative effect on image quality.